PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID ENCINITAS, CA 92024 PERMIT NO. 94
THE COAST NEWS
MAKING WAVES IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
VOL. 27, NO. 27
.com SEPT. 20, 2013
SB Council rejects mixed-use complex By Bianca Kaplanek
SOLANA BEACH — A second attempt for approval of mixed-use complex on a rundown vacant lot at 636 Valley Ave. was denied without prejudice at the Sept. 11 meeting, allowing the applicants to once again make changes and resubmit plans without having to wait a year. At the July 10 meeting, Sea Breeze Properties proposed building four structures that would replace an abandoned, boarded-up single-family house and overgrown dead vegetation on the 10,874-square-foot lot that, according to some nearby property owners, attracts homeless people. One building would include commercial space for an office or retail business on the ground floor and a two-bedroom unit on the second story.The other buildings would be three-story, three-bedroom detached townhomes, each with a firstfloor enclosed garage and two levels of living area. Originally the buildings varied in height, from a little more than 30 feet to slightly less than 35 feet. The maximum proposed square footage was 7,530, with the structures ranging from 1,833 to 2,000. The site could be developed with up to 13,049 square feet. Although the project was below the allowable size by more than 5,500 square feet, council members had concerns about its size and sent the developers back to the drawing board in July. The modified plans were presented Sept. 11. A tower feature on the western side of the mixed-use build-
ing was reduced from 30 feet 6 inches to 20 feet.The building also has a single-story entry area with a patio and trellis. A 14-foot arcade wall proposed on that building was lowered 18 inches and moved west toward the front property line by 2 feet. The residential buildings were moved 1 foot south to create a larger area along the northern property line between unit one and the property to the north. One townhome was made 3 feet lower. The other two were reduced by 2 feet. Bike parking was added. Although many residents said they appreciated the changes, they said the project is still too big and not compatible with the surrounding area. Eight of the 16 speakers, many of them multigenerational residents of the area, asked council members to reject the proposal. “We’re trying to preserve La Colonia,” resident Sylvia Espeytia said. “This building … is huge. They are trying to make La Colonia a better place to live. This is not going to make it a better place to live. “We’re getting squeezed out of our own home town with all these buildings and businesses going up,” she said. “That’s not fair. That’s not right. We still have to live there. It’s our hometown and they’re taking it away from us.” “The applicants’ proposal was very impressive,” Juanita Street resident Gloria Aaronson said. “But it’s just so big. And quite TURN TO MIXED-USE ON A45
Home & Garden Guide Be sure to check out the fall Home & Garden inside this week’s issue. B1 Arts & Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . .A23 Food & Wine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A30 Legals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A16 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A15
CUSD School Board A new member is selected to fill the seat on the CUSD school board. A3
PEAK PERFORMER Joey Szalkiewicz, a 15-year-old Carlsbad High School student has set himself a lofty goal: To scale Seven Summits before he graduates. See the full story on page A29. Pictured above: From left to right: Szalkiewicz’s sister Brittany, his father Joe, and Joey smile at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in June 2010. Photo courtesy of Kurt Wedberg
Radar intends to thwart maritime smuggling By Rachel Stine
CARLSBAD — The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations Center (AMOC) installed surveillance radar on Carlsbad’s Ponto Beach late last month as part of a new system designed to thwart rising maritime smuggling. The TERMA radar, which can detect objects within a parameter of over 15 miles, is designed to identify boats of all sizes approaching the coastline so officials can efficiently respond to smuggling attempts and other threats. Maritime smuggling along California’s coast has become an increasing problem since about 200708, according to Keley Hill, the director of marine operations for the San Diego Division for CBP’s Office of Air and Marine. With law enforcement agencies better securing the border between Mexico and the United States on land with new technology and combined resources, smugglers have increased their efforts to cross over the border by sea to deliver mostly drugs and people striving to enter the country illegally. “The terrestrial border has been locked down, it’s become harder and harder to cross,” he said. “We’re seeing an increase in maritime smuggling.”
This screen shot reveals the data collected by the TERMA radar during a 15-mile parameter test. Image courtesy of the Air and Marine Operations Center
As law enforcement agencies have shore and even further,” Hill said. As a result, law enforcement is heightened security along the water, smugglers have traveled farther and forced to monitor an area about 80,000 square nautical miles. farther out to sea to avoid detection. “The routes these smugglers are TURN TO RADAR ON A36 taking are as much as 150 miles off